USCIS Clarifies That Premium Processing Fee Will Increase on December 2

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At a glance

• The Form I-907 premium processing fee will increase to $1,440, from $1,410, on December 2.
• Applications postmarked on or after the effective date of the change must include the higher fee.
• USCIS originally announced a November 29 start date for the new fee, but has since issued a correction.

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The situation

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is increasing the Form I-907 premium processing fee to $1,440, from $1,410, according to an announcement issued Wednesday. A final rule on the fee change has been published in the Federal Register. The fee increase is to take effect on December 2. Applications postmarked on or after that date must include the new fee.

USCIS originally announced that the fee increase would take effect on November 29, but issued a correction late Wednesday.

Premium processing is available for certain employment-based immigration petitions filed on USCIS Forms I-129 and I-140, permitting employers who pay an extra fee to request adjudication – approval, denial or a request for further evidence – within 15 calendar days. According to DHS, the fee is being increased to reflect the 44.13 percent increase in inflation since June 2001, when the fee was first implemented at $1,000. The premium processing fee was last adjusted in October 2018, an increase to $1410, from $1,225. Prior to that, the fee had remained at $1,225 since 2010.

What this means

Requesting expedited adjudication of eligible employment-based petitions will become more expensive after the rule takes effect. Employers should take the premium processing fee increase into consideration when budgeting for immigration-related expenses.

Further, the fee increase may result in an increase in premium filings over the coming month. As a result, petitioners could see more Requests for Evidence (RFE) on premium processed petitions as USCIS works through its premium caseload.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.